The present invention relates to stoves, and, more particularly, to inserts for stoves.
Stoves are becoming widely used as sources of heat for homes, cabins, and the like. These stoves can take the form of fireplace inserts, freestanding models, or the like. These stoves burn wood or coal, or the like, as fuel and have many designs for inputing heat to a room or other such enclosure.
Double walls are often used in such stoves, and these walls are often subjected to severe thermal gradients. Accordingly, there is need of a means for modulating the thermal gradient to which the walls of a double wall stove are subjected.
As the price of wood increases, coal becomes an attractive alternative source of fuel for such stoves. However, wood and coal have different draft requirements. For example, wood needs more volume than coal. Therefore, there is need of a means for adapting a stove for use as either a wood burning or a coal burning stove.
Grates have been known for many years. However, the present inventor is not aware of any such element which is adaptable for coal or wood and which also modulates the heat transferred to a stove wall. Furthermore, none of the known devices have adequate means for removing ash from coal so that hard coal can be efficiently used. Soft coal creates a great deal of smoke and thus is not acceptable; however, most known stoves only burn soft coal in an efficient manner.